ST. JOHN'S, N.L. - If there's a downside to Labrador's mining boom, Carrie Cabot and her family are living it.

"We're very stuck," she said from Wabush, N.L.

Cabot, her husband Damico and their two daughters, aged one and three, are being forced out of their apartment to make way for Labrador mine workers.

As expanding iron ore companies pay big money to buy up houses and apartment buildings in small communities closest to the mines, the Cabots are among those struggling to find affordable homes.

Rents have soared in Labrador West since the latest mining boom started four years ago, fuelled by demand for iron ore overseas. Provincial legislation does not restrict yearly increases.

Competition for scarce housing is so intense, it's not unusual for homeowners in Labrador City and Wabush to live in their summer cabins or basements while contractors pay $5,000 a month or more to rent their places.

The Cabots got an eviction notice on Dec. 1 and have to be out by the end of July. Tenants usually have to move within three months, but in this case were given extra time and assistance by the purchasing company to find new homes.

The trouble, Cabot says, is that even though her husband earns more than $65,000 a year working as a mechanic's assistant, housing prices of about $300,000 are out of reach until they've saved a down payment.

And there aren't many rentals they can afford, she said.

The family was paying just over $1,000 a month for a three-bedroom apartment before the building was sold. The best they've found so far, Cabot said, is a two-bedroom basement apartment with one window for $1,600 a month.

"If you're lucky enough to find something advertised, it's either for contracting companies only or it's so highly priced that an average family can't afford to rent it."

Even when displaced tenants manage to find something, many live in fear that it won't last.

Kathryn Hymers Batstone, who earns about $15 an hour at a retail job, was evicted from her apartment in Wabush last year when it was sold. She found a smaller unit in Labrador City when friends intervened to help, but she never feels secure.

"You're living on pins and needles all the time because you just don't know anymore," she said. "I know people who've had their rent doubled. You're paying $750 a month and all of a sudden it's $1,400 or $1,500.

"Most everybody I've known has left."

Demand for iron ore in China and India is driving a boom that is pricing many people out of a home, said Karen Oldford, deputy mayor of Labrador City and a volunteer with a local housing and homelessness coalition.

Not all landlords are gouging, but many people who've lived through cyclical boom-and-bust times are making money while they can, she said.

"We have townhouses that are being rented for $6,000 a month with four bedrooms."

Bungalows that sold for about $100,000 in 2007 are now fetching $350,000 "with no work done," Oldford said.

Labrador City and its twin community Wabush, with growing populations of about 10,000 and 2,000 respectively, are known as Labrador West. Construction of more than 500 homes and apartment units in the region has not kept up with demand, Oldford said.

Expansion is tricky because mining companies hold rights to much of the undeveloped land, she added.

"There's not the willingness to part with lands to allow us to grow in a timely fashion."

The push for a more mobile workforce was a key sticking point in contract talks between the Iron Ore Company of Canada and the local United Steelworkers union before the company pulled a "fly in, fly out" proposal from the table.

As for those at the mercy of the rental market, Oldford wants more legal protections.

Intergovernmental Affairs Minister Nick McGrath, responsible for Labrador, isn't convinced that rent controls are the best way to handle what he calls a housing bottleneck.

"That's something that would have to be discussed at a government level."

McGrath has lived through mining recessions in the '80s and '90s.

"I remember one particular street, there were 88 vacant houses," he recalled. "You have to be very careful when you're developing.

"I think all levels of government as well as private enterprise are aware of the housing difficulties in Labrador West and they're working together to try to alleviate the problem."

Newfoundland and Labrador Housing Corp. raised its income threshold in Labrador West to $65,000 from $32,500 to help more people access affordable units.

CEO Len Simms says there are nine people on the regional low-income wait list. Anyone making more than $65,000 — but not enough to afford local housing prices — is caught in a different dilemma than his priority groups, he said.

"We deal with low-income families. The other issue that comes up is housing affordability."

Cabot says she may have to take a more affordable place in Happy Valley-Goose Bay, about 530 kilometres away, while her husband boards in Wabush and visits when he can. Or they may leave the province.

"It looks great on the outside," she said of the Labrador mining boom. "But come here and deal with it."

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The 10 Most Expensive Houses In Canada

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3719 Selkirk, Vancouver: This three-story house in Vancouver's Shaugnessy Heights neighbourhood has 10,000 square feet of living space on a 24,000-square-foot property.

It features a "Versailles-style great room" with 22-foot ceilings and marbled floors, and a "hall of mirrors" in the cloakroom. The property features an indoor poll and sauna with a glass ceiling, and an "award-winning" custom home theatre designed by Vancouver firm La Scala.

The property boasts an earthquake-proof concrete foundation. On top of eight bedrooms and 13 bathrooms, the house features a heated circular driveway and underground parking for four cars.

17485 Maclaren, Caledon, Ont.: This estate in cottage country north of Toronto is the only house in the Top 10 list not located in the cities of Toronto or Vancouver. The 250-acre property has been in the same family for 100 years and, besides the 10-bedroom main house, features four additional residences which the realtor says would be impossible to get permits for today.

The property features a tennis court, swimming pool and a number of hiking trails, and the realtor boasts of the trout fishing to be had on the nearby lake.

1988 Drummond, Vancouver: Located in Point Grey on Vancouver's west side, this property features 10 bedrooms, including three ensuite rooms and a master bedroom with matching his-and-hers bathrooms and balconies.

The basement features this slick home theatre, as well as a gym and a hot tub and sauna. With a 10-car garage, you're unlikely to run out of parking space.

1077 W. Cordova, Vancouver: The penthouse on top of Shaw Tower, the tallest waterfront condo building in Vancouver, occupies an entire floor, providing a 360-degree view of the city's skyline (you have to look down at it), Stanley Park, the North Shore and the ocean.

Four bedrooms are situated among a media room, climate-controlled wine room and home office. The outdoor hot tub, accessible from the master bedroom, is a particularly unique feature.

1398 The Crescent, Vancouver: Sitting about 16 blocks from the Granville Bridge entrance to the downtown core, this 13,000-square-foot home is about as close to Vancouver's city centre as a mansion can get. It sits on The Crescent, the ritzy centre of wealthy Shaugnessy Heights.

The list of amenities is seemingly endless: Ten bedrooms, six fireplaces (three wood and three gas), a five car garage, a four bedroom coach house, and 9.5 bathrooms. And in case your guests still don't get how rich you are, the Swarovsky crystal chandelier in the foyer should make it obvious.

75 Highland, Toronto: Though it may appear relatively modest on the outside, this home in Toronto's elegant inner-suburban Bridle Path district is in fact a veritable showcase of high-tech amenities, featuring everything from smart home technology to a car elevator to snow-melting technology.

The house also features a sauna, pool and hot tub, a games room and a climate-controlled wine cellar.

155 Cumberland, Toronto: There are more than 10,000 square feet of living space in this penthouse located in Toronto's posh Yorkville neighbourhood. The two-storey foyer leads to four bedrooms, a family room and a wine cellar.

All but two of the condo's rooms open to an outdoor terrace, and the condo features a truly rare and surprising amenity in downtown Toronto: No fewer than four parking spots.

1011 W. Cordova, Vancouver: "Penthouse One" in Vancouver's iconic Fairmont Pacific Rim tower overlooks Coal Harbour and the city's north shore, and features more than 6,400 square feet of living space across two stories.

Billed as "the most prestigious oceanfront penthouse in the city," Penthouse One features numerous terraces and gardens, and was recently redesigned by renowned interior designer Robert Bailey.

3390 The Crescent, Vancouver: Located in Vancouver's historic and ritzy Shaugnessy Heights neighbourhood, this house can be described numerically: Six bedrooms, eight bathrooms, five fireplaces, three walk-in closets in the master bedroom, and one absolutely amazing billiards room.

Then there are the manicured grounds, the greenhouse and the heated pool. But owning an acre of land a dozen blocks or so from the centre of Vancouver doesn't come cheap -- the asking price here is $31.9 million.